The Old Ballplayer

"I think it's time I wrote my book," he said. It will be a chocolate-covered book, not for serious readers, though they may secretly own a copy and hide it behind their Thucydides and Herodotus. "I was born on May 14, 1953," it will begin, "in White Oak, CA." "In 1956, at the age of 3, I hit .357 with 3 HRS, 6 2Bs, and 15 SB."
The biographer, a hired gun, will learn to love the sound of an old ballplayer's voice. And he will accept the transference between psychiatrist and patient, and will urge the old man to dig deep into his unconscious for kernels of baseball truths.
"Who was it you admired? Palmer's delivery? Gibson's brushbacks? Ryan's velocity in the late innings?" And that will suffice to bring on an afternoon's discussion on pitching mechanics, going back to the days of Matthewson and Alexander, and then Marichal and The Catfish. It will be dawn before the two men retire for the evening.
Five years later, when the book is published, a 10-year old boy will take it from the shelves of his local library to use for his 5th grade "hero" report. He will begin, "Smokey 'Gunslinger' McRae was born on May 14, 1953 in White Oak, CA. In 1956, at the age of 3, he hit .357 with 3 HRs, 6 2Bs, and 15 SB's." And all will be well with the world.

~jeff